Hanging window-shelf



(No Model.) W. A. THOMPSON.

HANGING WINDOW SHELF.

No. 482,502. Patented Sept. 13, 18 92.

a 80 f8 0 r .j umnlr J I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. THOMPSON, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MATTHIAS E. OROOKER, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

HANGING WINDOW-SHELF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,502, dated September 13, 1892.

' Application filed October 8, 1891. Serial No. 408,132. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. THOMPSON, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hanging WVindow-Shelves, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to shelves for use in supporting potted plants in windows; and it consists in certain novelfeatures of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claims hereinafter given, and in which my invention is clearly pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is an elevation of a window with two of my improved shelves applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of one of the shelves and its supportingbracket. Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of one end of the shelf and one of its supportingbrackets, one casing or pilaster of the window being shown in section; and Fig. 4; is a partial sectional elevation, the cutting plane being on line m or on Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawings, A represents the sash, B the window-sill, G O the side casings or pilasters, and D the top casing or cap, of an ordinary Window.

E is a shelf, preferably made of wood, though metal may be used, if desired, having a length somewhat greater than the width of the window and its side casings, as shown.

F is a bracket composed of the horizontal bar a, the upright 19, slightly inclined from a perpendicular, and the curved oblique member 0, the members I) and 0 being connected at their upper ends, so as to form a loop or eye 61 to engage the shank of the screw e, set in the edge of the casing O, as shown. The members I) and c are connected together by the bar a and the brace or tie f. Just below the junction of the members aand b are formed the members g and h, the former preferably in the form of a hoop or ring occupying a Vertical plane parallel to the edge of the shelf and the latter in the form of a semicircle in a plane at right angles to m ember g. The member g is arranged to rest against the front of the casing or back molding, while the member it bears against the edge of the casing or molding, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Just below the junction of the members a and c is formed the scroll-like ornament 2'.

The bracket shown in the drawings is made of twisted wire, the several members being united by twisting their several wires to-' gether, as at 2, 3, 4, and 5, which is the construction I prefer; but said bracket may be made of cast metal, if desired, when of course each bracket would be cast in one piece. The bracket is connected to the shelf by means of two staples 761C, driven into the under side of the shelf, one near each edge of said shelf, with a prong upon each side of the bar a, in such a manner that the shelf when suspended for use will rest upon said bars a, and when not in use the bracket may be folded down flat upon the under side of the shelf, so as to 00- cupy very little room. By this construction a very neat and convenient shelf for supporting potted plants in windows is produced that is portable in form, easily placed in position for use, and readily removable for cleaning or when not wanted for use, as when the plants are removed to the garden or yard during the warm summer months, and when so removed leaving no more objectionable re minder of its having been attached to the window than one small round-headed screw projecting about one-quarter of an inch from the outer edge of each casing.

The shelf may be applied to the inside or outsideof the Window with equal facility and usefulness.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination of the shelf Eand the bracket F, composed of the horizontal bar a, the slightly'inclined upright 19, the tie-rod a, connecting the front end of the bar a and the upper end of the bar I), and the parts g h, arranged at right angles to each other, said bracket being provided with a loop or eye 61 at its upper end, with its axis parallel to the rear edge of the shelf, the bar a being hinged or pivoted to said shelf, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the shelf E and two brackets F, pivoted to said shelf, one near each end, and each provided with a loop or eye at its upper end, with its axis parallel to In testimony whereof I have signed my the rear edge of the shelf and adapted to enname to this specification, in the presence of 10 gage a screw or stud set in the edge or surtwo subscribing witnesses, on this 7th day of face of the casing, which is at right angles to October, A. D. 1891.

5 the wall of the building, and also provided WILLIAM A. THOMPSON.

with the members 9 and h, constructed and Witnesses: arranged to bear, respectively, against the N. O. LOMBARD, front and edge of the window-casing. WALTER E. LOMBARD. 

